


Werewolves in Camelot

by lucy105blue



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Archimedes as a familiar, Doctor Merlin (Merlin), F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-25
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2020-10-27 21:17:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20767109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lucy105blue/pseuds/lucy105blue
Summary: When Merlin finds himself stumbling into Camelot and losing consciousness he has to make a hasty getaway. But not first without causing a whole lot of issues for Arthur Pendragon.Arthur is trying to find his mate without his Father constantly butting in. When he does however find the man, he slips away, and now Arthur must find his mate again.





	1. Chapter 1

Merlin raced through the forest looking back to check that he was ahead. His satchel slapped against his thigh as he listened to the tell tale hooting of Archimedes. He leaped a log but stumbled on the landing, rolling into a ravine. On the way down his head slammed into a rock. He landed in the snow while listening to the sound of the creek moving and bubbling wondering if he would die here. Staring up at the stars through the thick foliage he could see Archimedes fluttering down pecking softly at his shirt sleeve.  
The sound of a deep guttural growl sent his Familiar flapping into the trees. His vision was blurring but he could make out the steadily approaching forms of six large wolves. One of the wolves a large golden animal with bright blue eyes stepped forward carefully. The wolf bent his head down to sniff at Merlin’s hair. He knew what they were even in his muddied mental state, werewolves. Merlin was trying to figure out exactly which territory he had inadvertently stumbled into. Soon he lost consciousness, hoping that wherever he ended up would be far enough away from what was chasing him

Arthur, Gwaine, Leon, and Percival sat in the kitchen playing a card game. They heard Elyans howl, a warning that someone had crossed Camelot’s borders.  
“Leon stay here and tell my father that we’re heading to southern border.” Leon nodded and swiftly exited the room.  
“Let’s head out boys!” Gwaine said with a mock howl.  
They quickly transformed outside and began there run into the woods. Arthur quickly realized where they were heading. The Mercian Ravine, it served as a sort of border between Camelot’s territory and Mercia. He gave a quick message to the others to surround the unfamiliar scent that he knew to be a person. They carefully approached through the trees. Arthur could see a shape laying in the snow. As he got closer he realized it was a man, pale skin and feathery dark hair. His eyes were open and staring up into the sky until he realized they were approaching. He turned his face towards Arthur and he saw the glazed eyes and his trouble focusing. A large gash on the man's forehead told him that he had probably fallen into the ravine and hurt himself. He threw a look over to Gwaine who had already sat on his haunches obviously not seeing the injured man as a threat.  
Arthur stepped forward not having lowered his defenses yet. He gave the man a quick cursory sniff as he held his head over him. The scent hit him in a new way that he wasn’t expecting, his eyes widened and he had to force himself not to drop onto his stomach at the scent. He threw his head back and howled, telling Leon that there was somebody injured and that they needed help getting him back to the house. The man's eyes had closed and he was unconscious.  
Arthur sat beside his own bed watching the man breathe and found himself counting each breath. Almost expecting him to stop at any moment. He raised one hand to gently and hesitantly touch the man's hair. The dark strands as soft as they looked and the dark color a stark contrast against his skin. He couldn’t be completely certain until the man opened his eyes but the wolf inside him was spinning and circles and wanted to lean out the window and howl at the moon like some kind of stupid fool. The sound of a hooting howl echoed outside as it had been for the last 30 minutes. He could hear Gwaine, Leon, and Elyan in the kitchen talking amongst themselves as they waited for Gaius to arrive. He wanted desperately to curl up beside the man but knew it wouldn’t be appropriate and feared making him uncomfortable.  
Merlin woke up in a dark room. The bed he was lying in was soft and warm. A man stood above him shaking him awake. He looked again and realized he knew him.  
“Gaius?” Merlin groaned rubbing his head.  
“Oh good you’re up. Maybe now you can tell me what the hell you’re doing in the Camelot werewolf territory.” Gaius hissed at him.  
“I didn’t mean to I was in Mercia helping out with a magical illness,” Merlin explained sitting up in bed, “the sorceress who cast it wasn’t very happy with me. Sent some weird shadow spell after me that I’ve never seen before.”  
“Well you have to go, now. I was able to convince Arthur to take a break and finally leave the room,” He explained quickly helping Merlin get his things together. “Uther will not be happy if he finds out what you are. Head to the city and meet me at my shop, I’ll explain more then.”  
He ended his instructions by shoving Merlin out of the window and on to a little patch of roof. With a few simple words and a glow of his eyes, he covered his scent and turned himself invisible. he could hear Archimedes hotting above his head, a sign that he was safe and watching.

He headed into the city of Camelot, which was a bit different than the wolf territory surrounding the city. The city itself was home to all manner of creature from elf, dwarf, and whatever else that had found its way here. Merlin knew from what he had heard from Gaius, who was a dear friend of his mothers and had introduced him to medicine when he was younger, that the city of Camelot didn’t have as many sorcerers as most cities due to the hatred that Uther Pendragon, Alpha of the Camelot Pack, had of them. Nobody knew why he hated them so much but Uther was charismatic and a high ranking member of the city council his word was basically law. He may not have been able to enforce any death penalty but he could make it hard for sorcerers to find jobs and housing. Merlin knew he’d have to make himself scarce when it came to the pack.  
He headed down a small alleyway which led to Gaius’s shop. He opened the door using the key that had been pressed into his palm as he made his escape from the pack house. Before closing the door Archimedes swooped inside after him and perched quietly atop one of the many bookshelves lining the walls. Shelves were full of herbs and different types of medical equipment sat out on tables. He dropped his bag in the guest bedroom and turned to study the bookcase and chose one of the many volumes to leaf through on one of the long oak tables in one of the few spots that wasn’t covered in medicine brewing supplies and other medical equipment.

Arthur rubbed his eyes as he walked back towards his bedroom. He had left Gaius in charge of the man they had found in the woods only because the old man had made it clear that Arthur needed to take a bathroom break and a drink of water. Sitting in that chair all night was killing his back but he wanted desperately to be there when he woke up. Gaius has been the Pendragon physician for as long as Arthur could remember and was the first person he called when they had found him. The mans pale face and dark hair was burned into his retinas and the scent was stuck to his clothing giving him a heady feeling. He headed towards his door only for Gaius to open the door before he could.  
“Arthur I regret to inform you that your guest decided to take his leave.” Gaius said softly resting his hand comfortingly seemingly understanding why Arthur would be upset.  
“What?! Where did he go. What did he say his name was? Where is he going?” Arthur couldn’t seem to stop asking questions his mouth hadn’t quite caught up with his brain as he tried to understand what was happening.   
“Calm down, Arthur, you’re going to pass out if you don’t breathe.” The older man told him, “He didn’t tell me anything, he just said he had to go and then climbed out the window.”   
“You just let him go!”   
“I wasn’t aware we were in the business of taking prisoners.”   
“Aggghhhg.” The blonde man groaned as he rubbed his hands over his eyes. “I’m going to go look for him.”  
“Arthur!” Gaius called after him but he was already running down the stairs, transforming once he stepped outside.   
He spent the rest of the day racing around the territory searching for any trace of the scent that had been burned into his brain. The scent was gone as if it had never been there to begin with. Circling back to the place they first discovered him, he found the original scent but Arthur could tell it was from last night and that nothing had disturbed the clearing. He sat down resting his large lupine head on his paws and let out a dejected noise.


	2. Chapter 2

Merlin looked up from the stacks of books he had collected around him at the sound of the front bell tinkling. Gaius stepped inside and gave him his customary raised eyebrow of disappointment. He walked up to Merlin and checked the bandages around the cut on his forehead.  
“So Merlin tell me about this sorceress that apparently now has a vendetta against you.” Gaius said to him, sitting down across from him.  
“As I told you before, I had been called to Mercia to help out with a strange disease that was spreading fast and that they believed had magical elements to it. The sorceress didn’t appreciate that I cured it and had me chased out of the territory by a bloodthirsty shadow.” He explained.  
“Do you think it’s still after you?”  
“I haven’t seen it since I fell into that ravine. It might have just been sent to chase me out of Mercia.” Gaius nodded thoughtfully.  
“Well I think you should lay low and rest here for a little bit. That was a nasty fall and I don’t want you collapsing somewhere because you’re over exerting yourself.”  
“You’re too kind Gaius,” Merlin gave him his signature toothy smile, “But don’t think for a minute I won’t be helping you out around here while I’m staying.”  
The older man gave him a rueful smile. He was happy to have Merlin back at the shop, he was like a son to him. But he couldn’t stop thinking about the look on Arthur’s face when he told him Merlin was gone. Something sorrowful and gutted it made him incredibly nervous, because if Merlin was who he thinks he is to Arthur then things were about to get very chaotic.  
Archimedes hooted and fluffed his feathers and Gaius smiled fondly at the bird and stood up and went back to the tasks he had planned for the day as Merlin went back to his books. 

Arthur wasn’t paying attention at dinner that evening. Morgana and their father were talking about something but he couldn’t bring himself to look away from the fork he was staring at listlessly. They usually had dinner as a family at the townhouse that was close to the city’s capitol building where Uther worked.  
“Arthur could you stop staring at your broccoli and join in the conversation?” Asked from the head of the table. Morgana chuckled and smirked when Arthur gave her a glare.  
“So sorry father what were you talking about?” He said doing his best to pretend to pay attention.  
“I was simply asking about who Morgana would be bringing to the campaign fundraiser next week.” Uther explained. Arthur’s father held a yearly fundraiser to raise money for his re-election bids, even though he didn’t need the money. The party was just a way to get people to mingle and for Uther to show off himself and his children.  
“Gwen of course, unless Lancelot finally decides to man up and ask her out this time.” Morgana said airily.  
“And who is Lancelot?” Uther asked not really paying attention as he watched Arthur with a quizzical expression.  
“He’s one of Arthur's little pack buddies.” She explained with a subtle roll of her eyes, “You know the guys you’ve met a thousand time.”  
“Must have slipped my mind.” The older man said waving a hand in indifference.  
“Mmmhm.” Morgan hummed unimpressed.  
“What about you Arthur? What about Miss Vivian, you and her looked very happy together the other day.” Uther wheedled.  
“Vivian, I believe is still in Prague with her family.” He said carefully knowing how badly his father wanted a relationship to bloom between the two of them. Arthur knew he had no interest in Vivian, mostly because she was a conceited brat who had never worked for anything in her life and had a bad habit of berating his friends. But there was also the uncomfortable tightness in his chest that if he focused on too hard would remind him of feathery dark hair and pale skin.  
“Oh too bad. You’ll have to invite her to dinner some time. What a lovely girl she is, you would hate to have that one slip away.” His father said with a wink. Morgana made a gagging motion, making Arthur nearly choke with laughter on the wine he was drinking.  
“Went down the wrong pipe.” Arthur explained dabbing his mouth with his napkin. Uther gave Morgana a perplexed look who just smiled and shrugged innocently.

Merlin studied the man sitting in front of him. The man eyed Archimedes distrustfully who was sitting atop the bookcase warily, while his third eye, a deep fuchsia color in the iris glared at Merlin.  
“I was supposed to be meeting with Gaius.” The man said his two eyes coming back to look at Merlin.  
“He had a patient he had to go see downtown but don’t worry I’m completely capable of taking care of this.” He took a flashlight pen out of his packet and asked the man to see if he could get the third eye to follow the light. The eye gave him an eye roll and refused to do anything but what it wanted. “You wouldn’t have happened to have run into any Pixies recently?”  
“Uh yeah...” The man trailed off. Merlin could guess that the man had messed with some Pixies ended up with a curse and didn’t want to actually admit to whatever he had done to get cursed in the first place.  
“Well, in that case the curse should wear off in a day or two. If it doesn’t or gets worse, come back.” He explained. “I hope this will teach you in the future not to mess with Pixies.”  
The man stood up thanked him and made a quick escape. Merlin rolled his eyes and went about tidying up the disaster zone Gaius called his workshop. How he got people to trust him as a medical professional with the place looking like a bomb had gone off, Merlin would never know. The sound of the bell above the door pulled his attention to two women entering the apothecary. One woman was tall, with a long dark curtain of hair that was expertly braided into an intricate pattern, and large green eyes lined with dark makeup. The other woman was a bit shorter, with a curly bob that bounced when she walked, and pretty dark eyes. Their eyes caught on the owl on a bookcase, but quickly looked back to Merlin. Both stopped to study him for a moment before putting on inquisitive smiles.  
“Hi, you wouldn’t happen to know where Gaius is?” The taller woman asked. Her clothes were glamorous and her heels were so tall that Merlin was wondering if her friend was a spotter.  
“I’m actually filling in at the moment for him. What can I do for you?” Merlin asked giving them one of his toothy smiles.  
“We’re here to pick up some medicine for Morgana Pendragon.” The shorter one explained.  
“Let me take a look and see if I can find it. As you can see Gauis doesn't exactly keep the place what you would call organized.” He said giving them a helpless shrug and a smile. The woman laughed at his joke as they watched him check in a few cabinets. After a few moments they watched him jump up with a happy Eureka!, holding a bottle labeled in cursive with Morgana's name.  
“So are you related to Gaius or something?” The smaller woman asked, “I’m Gwen by the way and you know Morgana's name of course.”  
“He was a friend of my Mothers, my first teacher in medicine.” He explained as he packaged the medicine into a brown paper bag.  
“That’s interesting are you going to be working here now.” Morgana asked before pausing for a moment to study his forehead, “What happened to your head?”  
“Oh,” He didn’t know if Uther had told her about the werewolves discovering a strange man unconscious in the forest and he didn’t want to risk them telling anybody it was him, “I tripped and hit my head Gaius has been keeping a bit of an eye on me.”  
Morgana gave him a once over, studying him for a long moment.  
“Me and Gwen were going to go out for dinner tonight at 6 would you like to join us.” The dark haired woman said with a smile that promised things he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Gwen on the other hand looked like the picture of innocence as she smiled and nodded about the invitation.  
“That would be wonderful. You’d love this little tavern we go to. Usually we have a few friends that join us but tonight it’s just the two of us. It would be really fun!” She said excitedly.

“Uh yeah that actually sounds like a lot of fun.” Merlin said. He hadn’t expected to make any friends here, he had just thought that in a week or two he would hear about a medical issue in some neighboring city and give Gaius a rushed goodbye before taking off.   
The rest of the day was spent in jittery anticipation. He was excited to finally have a night of not working, most of his time was spent either looking through books and studying or seeing patients. Sometimes, he thought sarcastically, I even sleep. Gaius soon returned home and he excused himself to get dressed when the time got closer to six. He changed out of his work clothes and into jeans and a long sleeved shirt. He walked out into the shop to find Gwen and Morgana talking to Gaius.   
“Hi guys, you ready to go?” Merlin asked walking over to greet the two women.  
“I didn’t realize you knew Morgana and Gwen.” Gaius stated giving Merlin his raised eyebrow over Morgana and Gwen's shoulder. He hated that eyebrow.  
“Oh we came in earlier today and ran into Merlin here.” Morgana explained.  
“Great.” Gaius said tightly. Gwen and Morgana noticed the tightness and gave Merlin smirks and soft ooohhhs under their breaths.  
“Well we should be off. Bye Gaius!” He called over his shoulder as he ushered everybody out of the door.  
“Somebodys in trouble.” Gwen said.   
“Did you see the eyebrow.” Morgana laughed leaning against Gwen as they walked down the street.


	3. Chapter 3

They got to the tavern and Morgana and Gwen led him to a booth in the corner of the room upstairs. He could hear music coming from the floor downstairs and pool table sat in the corner. A few heads turned at the sight of Morgana, her being the daughter of a prominent member of the city council and a very attractive and fashionably dressed woman. But it seemed that most people in the tavern were used to her presence. A short brown haired waitress came to the table, greeting Morgana and Gwen.  
“Hey guys who’s your friend?” She asked.  
“Freya, this is Merlin. He’s helping Gaius around the apothecary.” Morgana explained to her. “Freya usually joins our group, Merlin when she’s not working.”  
“Which is why my boss is always yelling at me to get back to work.” Freya laughed. “Anyway what can I get you guys?”   
Freya left after a bit more conversations to put their orders in.   
“So, let's get to know you Merlin. Where are you from?” Gwen asked leaning forward.   
“I was born in a little village called Ealdor near the city of Essetir.” Merlin explained.  
The sound of loud howling brought their attention to a man bouncing up the stairs. He had long brown hair and a roguishly handsome face. The loud man immediately caught sight of the three of them and came bounding over to the table. Placing an over enthusiastic kiss on Gwen and Morganas cheeks before tossing himself into the empty seat beside Merlin.   
“Gwaine I could have sworn they were implementing a no lunatics policy.” Morgana sneered, but anybody could see the good humor in her eyes.  
“Now don’t be like that I bring a certain life to all of our parties. Where would you sad sacks be without me?” Gwaine said reaching for the beer that Freya had just arrived with as well as their food and other drinks. “Somebody introduce me to the pretty cheekbones sitting next to me.”   
“This is Merlin we met him earlier today at Gaius’s shop. And Merlin this is Gwaine. We’re currently trying to house train him.” Gwen explained with a laugh.  
“Ohhh Doctor.” Gwaine gave him a playful smirk. Merlin had to admit the man was definitely too attractive for his own good.  
Don’t worry Merlin, Gwaine tries to shag something with a pulse at least,” Morgana mused for a second, “eighty times a day.”   
“Don’t listen to a word they tell you mate I’m a gods honest saint.” His voice carried a thick Irish accent and one arm was thrown haphazardly over Merlin’s shoulder.  
“We’ll have to see about that.” He said simply. Gwaine gave him a smile and a ridiculous over exaggerated wink, “But I'm not holding my breath.”  
“I think I like you Mr. Merlin.” The shaggy haired man laughed.   
“Where's everybody else?” Gwen asked.  
“Princess is off doing boring things, I didn't actually ask. Percy, Elyan, and Leon had to get ready for the big fundraiser that Uther is throwing.” Gwaine said in between downing his drink. Merlin watched in awe wondering if his medical skills were going to be needed.  
“And Lance?” Gwen asked shooting for casual but Merlin figured she had missed from the way everybody smirked at her.  
“Why Gwenevere would you want to know such a thing?” Gwaine asked.  
“See, Merlin, Lance and Gwen are desperately in love with each other. It’s sickening.” Morgana explained, making Gwen go pink and stutter.  
“Good to know I’ll have to remember that for my diary entry tonight.” A laugh went up at the table at that. Gwaine stopped laughing to give him an inquisitive look.   
“Mate, this may seem like an odd question but have we met before?” Merlin tried to control his breathing and calm his heart, he knew that werewolves could smell that kind of thing. He hoped that those abilities were lessened in human form.  
“I don’t believe we have.” Merlin said uncomfortably. His eyes drifted over to Morgana who seemed to sense his discomfort.  
“Are you sure something about you just seems very familiar?” He pressed leaning a bit closer to Merlin as if looking for some lost piece he was missing.  
“Gwaine so what is Uther forcing the guys to do for the fundraiser?” Morgana asked, distracting the irishmen from his searching.“Just moving things to the venue. I think the old bastard assumes were his personal butlers.” Gwaine said as Freya handed him another beer.  
“Huh thought that's what he hired you guys for.” Freya laughed.  
“I’ll have you know I am not paid for my services. Maybe I could offer you something to pay me for.” He said wiggling his eyebrows at her, earning a playful smack to the arm.   
“How did you manage to get out of it.” Gwen asked.  
“Well you see, Uther didn’t particularly appreciate me taking a few sips from the bar we were setting up and found my work ethic to be ‘incredibly poor’ whatever that means.” Gwaine said mimicking Uther’s voice.

By the end of the night Merlin was a bit tipsy and laughing with Gwen, Morgana, and Gwaine as they stumbled down the street. Morgana never tottered in her heels, the only difference he could find was the loud way she talked and laughed. Gwaine appeared to be trying to use Gwen, the only sober one of the group, as a crutch. He couldn’t remember the last time he had had this much time, except of course when he had been with Will. But if he thought about it anymore it would probably break him into drunken tears. They arrived outside of the apothecary shop doing their best to shush each other which probably made more noise than conversation they could have been having. The lights turned on inside and Gaius poked his head out of the door.  
“Ah I see you’re finally returning my guest to me.” He said giving them all the eyebrow. “And hello Gwaine, I should have figured you would be behind this behaviour.”  
“You’re too kind Gaius.” Gwaine said waving his hand as if he had just received a compliment. Morgana cackled like she just heard the funniest joke ever.  
“Gwen make sure they make it home and not on to the 10 o’clock news.”   
“Of course, Gaius. I’ll make sure Morgana doesn't embarrass herself too badly. Lucky for Gwaine I think he's already done everything one can do in a drunken haze.”  
“Don’t give him any ideas.” Morgana slurred. The group said goodbye to Merlin and Morgana made him promise to do it again another time. 

Arthur woke to the sound of somebody unlocking his front door. Sitting up abruptly he creeped out of bed and made his way towards the door. His claws extended from his fingernails and a low growl reverberated from his chest. The smell of beer hit him before anything else could and he immediately recognised Gwaine under all that stench. Or Gwaine just smelled like alcohol naturally, he couldn’t really be sure anymore.  
“Down doggy.” Gwaine said stumbling over his words and his feet as he made a beeline for the sofa.   
“Ugh Gwaine I told you the key was for emergencies only.” Arthur sighed already walking back to his bedroom.  
“I met a strange man tonight. Deja vu you know.” He mumbled face first into a pillow, if not for Arthurs overpowered hearing he probably would have missed it.  
“Gwaine I don’t want to hear about your ridiculous sexapades.”   
“Not sex…” The rest of the sentence was swallowed by a snore.


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur woke up this time to the sound of pots and pans banging in the kitchen accompanied by singing. Sitting up and wiping the sleep from his eyes he headed into the kitchen to find Gwaine preparing breakfast.  
“Good morning Princess. Hope you slept well.”  
“I would have slept better if you hadn’t broken into my apartment.” Arthur grumbled grabbing a plate of eggs and sat at the kitchen table.  
“It’s not breaking and entering if you’ve got a key mate.” Gwaine smirked preparing his own food.  
“I’m gonna have to question your legal knowledge.” He said, “So how was your night?”  
“I met up with Morgana, Gwen and this new friend they had made. Nice guy, name’s Merlin, I think. We got really plastered and i’m not good with names after I start drinking.”  
“Yeah I know. I’m not to sure you know my name.” Gwaine laughed as he sat down across from Arthur.  
“Princess, how could you doubt your favorite friend.”  
“Leon’s my favorite.” He said with a deadpan expression.  
“Percival’s my favorite anyway.” Gwaine stuck out his tongue making them both laugh like little boys.  
“How did they meet this Merlin fellow anyway?” Arthur asked as they ate.  
“He’s working at Gaius’s shop or something. Morgana and Gwen were at the shop to pick up Morgana's medicine and ran into him and invited him to dinner.”  
“Do you think they’ll be bringing him around again?”  
“Definitely, he’s a cool dude and Morgana and Gwen really seemed to like him. Maybe they’ll bring him around the next time we all hang out.” Gwaine said finishing the last of his breakfast and taking his plate to the sink.  
“Sounds good.” Arthur said distractedly, “Hey can I ask why you crashed at my place usually you crash over at Percivals place.”  
“I don’t really know for some reason I felt like I really needed to tell you something.” Gwaine shrugged, “I don’t really know why drunk me does what he does.”

The setting sunlight filtering through the shop window caught the dust floating in the air. Merlin was filling out a list of all the ingredients that would need to be refilled. Archimedes sat on a perch that Merlin had built for him, watching his movements with sleepy looking eyes. He could feel contentment through the bond that the two of them share. Merlin had formed a connection with Archimedes young, needing a Familiar to balance out the sheer amount of raw power that he has and help him better control it. The owl was a mirror into his own emotions and feelings.  
Once he was finished with the paper he set it down on the desk that was pushed against the corner of the room beside the shelves of ingredients. The sound of something clattering to the ground from the desk pulled his attention to a picture frame. It was lying on the ground face down where it fell. Picking it up he finds an older picture of Gaius, standing beside a man he knew to be Uther, next to the two men was a much younger blonde man. The blonde man was dressed in graduation robes and smiling proudly, holding a leather diploma cover.  
“That would be from Arthurs graduation. Uther was very proud of his son that day.” Gaius said from the backroom doorway.  
“Just that day?” Merlin asked, setting the picture frame back where it belonged.  
“Uther has… difficulty showing affection.” The older man explained choosing his words carefully.  
“Sounds about right. He doesn't seem like the kind of man who has an affectionate bone in his body.” Merlin was thinking about all the kids who were homeless because their parents had discovered they had magic. All the adults who lost their jobs because of Uthers harsh magic restrictions. All the people who had been chased out of their homes because of the stigma.  
“Don’t be too harsh, Merlin. Remember the man lost a lot when Ygraine died.” Gaius reminded him.  
“Sure two kids and more money than God. Sounds like he lost a lot.” Merlin bit out sarcastically.  
Gaius sighed and went back into the backroom to continue whatever he was doing. Merlin sighed running a hand through his hair in frustration. The sound of the bell above the door warned of customers and he put his customer service smile on. It was only Morgana, dressed in her usual heels and perfectly applied makeup.  
“Hey stranger.” She greeted with a kiss to his cheek.  
“Hi Morgana, it’s been what, a few days since you got your last batch of medicine. You're not due for more yet.” Merlin said.  
“Oh don't worry about that. I wanted to invite you to the tavern with some more of our friends.I was just about to head over there to meet them.” She explained.  
“Uh, which friends?” He asked trying to sound casual. She raised one perfectly manicured eyebrow and gave him a sly smile.  
“Elena, Gwen, Gwaine, and Freya.” Morgana listed on her fingers.  
“That sounds nice. I’d love to come.” Merlin said, “Let me go tell Gaius and grab my stuff.”  
He gave Gaius a quick goodbye and received only a ‘be careful and have fun’. Grabbing his wallet from his room he joined Morgana in the shop and they began the walk to the tavern. They chatted about how their week had been going since they had last seen each other and the patients that Merlin had seen. Soon they arrived and quickly ordered their drinks before heading up to their usual seats.  
“Merlin!” Gwaine called from the booth where he was sitting between Freya and a blonde haired woman he assumed to be Elena. Merlin and Morgana slide into their spots on either side of Gwen.  
“It’s nice to meet you Merlin. Everybody had good things to say about you. I’m Elena.” She reached a hand out to shake his hand, upon closer inspection he could see her ears had a pointed tilt to them.  
“You noticed these uh.” She said reaching up to tuck a piece of her hair back to better show them off.  
“Oh no! I wasn’t judging,” He pointed to his own ears with a self deprecating smile, “I assure you.”  
“Don’t worry. I’m a fairy, I've gotten used to all kinds of looks.” Elena waved her hand with a smile.  
“Anyway would anybody like to hear about how much I hate Uther?” Gwaine asked.

“I think we’re all well aware by now Gwaine.” Gwen said rolling her eyes.  
“You see but you haven’t heard about his latest douchebag move. So today this girl is working behind the bar getting everything in order and Uther’s just staring at her the entire time. With that glare on his face, you know the one where he kinda looks like he’s constipated. So the girl drops one of the bottles and it shatters. Uther goes mental, screaming at her, calling her stupid and all this shit. Of course she starts crying and it was the absolute worst thing I ever saw.” Gwaine shook his head a disgusted look on his face.  
“What stopped you from going after him? Usually you’re the first one to tell him where to shove it.” Morgana asked.  
“Percy's giant biceps. He had one wrapped around my stomach and his hand over my mouth. Uther's lucky Percy’s so loyal to Arthur or I would have had that asshole on the floor.” Gwaine said holding up a fist with a dark look on his face.  
“I don't know how you can stand to work for a prick like that.” Merlin said before turning red, “Sorry Morgana, I know he’s your Dad and all.”  
“The man’s a giant dick. Besides he had an affair with my Mother and lied about it till I was like fourteen.” Morgana explained.  
“Yikes.” Merlin really had no idea what to say to any of that soap opera.  
“That’s what I said when I found out, too.” Elena said making them all laugh at the uncomfortableness of the situation.

“Merlin how was your day, any fun patients.” Gwen asked steering the conversation to something lighter.  
“A lady turned her arms purple. Thought she was gonna die and was sobbing uncontrollably.” Merlin explained.  
“Wow that’s awful is she okay?” Freya asked concern lacing her voice.  
“Turns out she had just misused a bath bomb.” He said with a smile.  
“I mean I would probably think the same thing.” Gwen said with a laugh.  
“I’m gonna get another beer anybody want anything?” Merlin asked as he stood up.  
“Get me a beer would you Merls?” Gwaine asked putting on a fake posh accent and handing him his beer stein.

Heading downstairs he made his way to the bar and ordered two beers. The sound of an angry voice drew his eyes to an angry looking blonde man. He was yelling at a younger guy who was holding a plastic tub, a busboy.  
“This coat costs more than anything you’ll make in a year, maybe you could try not to be an incompetent moron for five seconds.” His voice did nothing to hide his distaste. Merlin could see the coat he was holding in his hand was covered in beer.  
“Look friend, maybe you should calm down.” Merlin said calmly stepping up behind the man.

“Do I know you?” The man asked as he turned around. His body went rigid and he looked like he had seen a ghost.  
“No I don’t believe you do.” He replied simply. “I just don’t think you should be berating somebody like that for a simple accident.”  
That seemed to return the man's senses to him because his face immediately hardened into a scowl.  
“I was not berating him I was simply pointing out that spilling drinks on customers was not a good way to build customer loyalty.” He said.   
Merlin found the man to be insufferably arrogant albeit ridiculously handsome. Then it hit him he knew that face, the blue eyes and defined jawline. It was Arthur Pendragon. The man he had been explicitly warned to stay away from. Shit, Gaius was going to kill him.   
There was a feeling low in his gut, like he was being pulled. Merlin had never felt anything like it. It felt like his magic was on fire, he could feel it coursing through his veins. He had to get out of there, he could feel his magic simmering just below the surface, like a ticking time bomb.  
“Gwaine will be wanting this, you arrogant prat.” Merlin replied shoving the two beers into Arthurs hands and exiting the building as quickly as he could.


	5. Chapter 5

Arthur had never wanted to kick himself so badly in his life. He knew he could be difficult and hard to deal with. His friends told him often that he was sometimes a bit too arrogant and pompous for his own good. Somehow he had managed to be all of those things in front of the person he had wanted to make a good impression on. Usually he only wanted to impress his Father but that man, he knew that man. He was the one from the woods. And now he knew for sure that he was his mate. The blue of his eyes had been captivating and made him want to stare at him forever. Arthur shook his head wondering if all mate bonds made you think cheesy and ridiculous things. Arthur had also been able to see the cut on his forehead, smaller than the last time he had seen him and obviously healing. Which told him he definitely wasn't a werewolf, if he had been the cut would have been gone the next day.  
Rushing out the door he followed the scent of the lanky man, hoping for another interaction without him seeming like an ass. The man's scent was gone, Arthur wondered if something was wrong with his nose. Nobodies scent just disappeared like like this. Arthur wanted to scream, somehow this man just kept slipping through his fingers. Sitting on the curb he put his head in his hands dejectedly, not really caring about what any passerbys thought.  
Mates were a specifically, werewolf thing. It was unusual for a werewolf to be bonded to a non werewolf, it happened but wasn't common. His father had never really explained much about mates to him. Father had always said that mates were a “distraction” and “childish” and that high ranking werewolves did not rely on silly superstitions, they created political connections and married for the good of their packs. Arthur always secretly thought his Father was so disapproving of mate bonds was because of his hatred for magic users. He probably considered the mate bond to be some more acceptable form of werewolf magic. All Arthur knew for sure was that he definitely wouldn't be telling his Father about the man. Running his hand through his hair to try and fix the mess it had become, he stood up and decided against heading back to the bar. 

“Merlin where the hell did you go?” Morgana said as soon as she picked up his call. He had arrived back at the shop, sneaking past the door to Gaius’s room and heading into his own.  
“I had to head out, i’m so sorry. Gaius called me and said he needed help with a patient.” Merlin lied. He didn’t know if Arthur had joined the others after he left and told them about the weird bloke who had run of leaving him with a handful of beer.  
“That’s fine. Call me tomorrow then. Have a good night.” She said simply. Merlin could hear drunken yelling in the background which sounded very much like Gwaine, not surprisingly.  
“Again, i’m really sorry Morgana. I didn’t mean to blow you guys off.”  
“Merlin you’re a doctor. I’m glad you take your job so seriously. Don’t worry nobodies mad. We were just worried you got kidnapped or something. With cheekbones like that I wouldn’t be surprised.” She said making him laughing.  
“Bye Morgana, i’ll call you tomorrow.” He said as he got ready for bed.  
“You better. Bye Merlin.” Morgana said and hung up the phone.

The sound of his cell phone ringing pulled him from his dreams. He lay in bed for a moment, flashes his dream were still playing in his mind, blonde hair, blue eyes, and large canine teeth opened in a snarling growl. Reaching over to grab his phone, the caller ID told him it was Gwen.  
“Hey, what are you planning on wearing to the fundraiser tomorrow?” He could hear her rustling around with what sounded like clothing, “Because I know Morgana was planning on wearing green and I was wondering if you were gonna match or-”  
“Wait, what are you talking about?” Merlin asked groggily cutting her off before she could get on a roll. What he had learned about Gwen was that she was prone to rambling.  
“Hasn’t Morgana asked you yet. She was supposed to be asking you to this fundraiser tomorrow night. I know it’s short notice, me and her usually go together but Lance asked me to go the other day and she said I absolutely had to say yes. She said she would just ask you to be her date to keep it simple.” Gwen explained, he marveled at her ability to hardly breathe during that whole explanation.  
“She hasn’t asked me yet. Maybe she was planning on asking me last night.” He said.  
“Where did you get to last night by the way?”  
“Gaius needed some help with a patient.” Merlin felt slimy for lying but he knew that it would be impossible to explain why he needed to run from Arthur.

“Oh to bad, we were wondering where you got to.” Gwen said.  
“Gwen, Morgana doesn’t think this is like a date date, right?”  
“Wow, I've never heard a man not want to go on a date with Morgana.” Gwen laughed.  
“It’s not that I'm just not attracted to her,” He groaned knowing that that was the worst way he could have put it, “Not that she’s not attractive or anything but I’m gay.”  
“Oh huh, wasn’t expecting that.” Was all Gwen said.  
“Is that a good or bad thing?” Merlin asked, hardly able to breathe. Gwen was becoming a good friend, he didn’t want to lose her.  
“Of course it’s a good thing, Merlin. Gwaine’s a raging bisexual and Arthur I think has dated a man or two. None of us would have any issues with your sexuality.”  
“That means a lot to me Gwen.” He said breathing deeply to avoid choking up.  
“Now, tell me what you’ll be wearing to the fundraiser. It’s a black tie event so you’ll have to wear a tux.” She explained.  
“I don’t have a tux to wear.” Merlin said simply as he got dressed and prepared for the day.

He didn’t have a lot of clothes the only ones he had were the ones he carried in his satchel that he had arrived with. A tux was most definitely out of the question when it came to what he was carrying. Most of his clothes were well worn, soft, and comfortable from years of use.   
“That’s fine I can probably borrow the older one that Elyan has. He’s my brother by the way.” She offered.  
“Uh yeah if it’s not too much trouble, I would really appreciate that.”   
“Of course I'll drop it tonight after I'm done at work.” The sound of Merlins phone buzzing warned him of another incoming call. He checked to find that it was Morgana.  
“Morgana’s calling. I’ll talk to you tonight, okay” She gave him a quick goodbye and hung up.  
“Merlin you’re free tomorrow right.” Morgana said, not wasting any time on things like hellos.  
“Gwen already asked if you had asked me to the fundraiser tomorrow.” Merlin explained.  
“Oh good, so you’ll go?”   
“Yeah sure i’ve got nothing better to do.”  
“Merlin there are people clamouring for my time. At least try to act a little more excited about spending time with me.” She said with a laugh.  
“Of course, of course, well I have to get to work before Gaius comes banging on my door.” He said and she gave him a proper goodbye before hanging up.


	6. Chapter 6

Arthur stared into the glass in his hands, moving the amber liquid around the glass. He was dressed in the tux his assistant, George had brought him earlier that day. The room was brightly lit and filled with beautiful dresses and smart looking tuxedos. The sound of polite laughter and clinking of glasses and high heels on hardwood floors filled the room. His father was schmoozing politicians and other Camelot wealthy somewhere out of his view. Across the room he could see Morgana enter the room looking beautiful in a regal green dress that brushed the floor as she walked. The photographers stationed outside must have had a field day when they saw her, he thought to himself. What he saw next nearly made him drop his glass. He hadn’t noticed when Morgana entered that she had been leading a man in after her until his scent had floated across the room to him. The man was the one from the bar and he now knew to be his mate. He was wearing an ill fitting tux and was obviously uncomfortable, especially seeing as a lot of eyes were turned on him. It wasn’t often that Morgana came to events like these with men, she usually just brought Gwen to avoid wild and ridiculous gossip. He could see Gwen and Lance staring into each other's eyes looking the ever lovey dovey couple. She could never seem to do anything without several layers of gossip and intrigue, it drove their father up the wall. Morgana found it hilarious.  
He still hadn’t been able to tear his eyes away from the dark haired, blue eyed, sharp looking man. Arthur wanted to walk over, ask if he could feel the connection but was terrified that he was here as Morgana's date. He wanted to know what he was doing in the woods that night and why he ran, there were so many questions with so few answers. There was also the fact that he wasn’t exactly on good terms with the man, the last and only time they spoke, he had managed to behave like a complete ass.  
“Oh hey, I didn’t know Morgana was bringing Merlin.” Gwaine said from behind him, coming to stand beside him. In one hand he held an entire bottle of vodka in the other was a napkin with messily scrawled numbers that he was shoving into the pocket of his pants.  
“Merlin? That’s Merlin? The guy you said was working at Gaius’s shop?” Arthur could hardly understand what was happening the feeling of betrayal lanced through his chest. Gaius knew the man and had lied to Arthur, told him that he didn’t know who he was or where he had gone to. All this time his mate had been staying with his family's closest friend.  
“Yeah, really nice guy I bet you’d like him.” Gwaine said offhandedly. He was beginning to question Gwaine's intelligence more than he usually did. How could he not remember the man they had pulled out of a ravine more than a week ago.  
“You don’t recognize him?” He asked incredulously.  
“No, I thought he looked familiar though. He told me we had never met though. Why, should I know him?”  
“Gwaine, he was the man from the woods, the unconscious one.” Gwaine's face morphed into one of shocked recognition.  
“I don’t believe it. I asked him if I knew him, I mean I guess he wouldn’t know me since he wasn’t awake but still, what the hell.” He said shaking his head, “I wonder what he was doing out there.”  
“I don't know Gwaine.” Arthur said offhandedly, never tearing his eyes away from Merlin. Morgana was leading him around as she spoke to different people she knew. Something made him laugh and Arthur had to stop himself from walking over and just standing beside him so he could he hear his voice.  
“Oh Arthur.” He turned to see Gwaine giving him a sad look.  
“What?” Arthur snapped.  
“I was out there with you that night, I saw your face.” He said shrugging and patting his shoulder.  
“Shut up Gwaine.” He said gruffly but with no real bite. The only thing he felt was sad, Merlin didn’t seem to notice him at all and seemed to feel no connection.  
“I’m gonna go say hello. Wanna come?” Gwaine asked giving him a hopeful smile.  
“No.” He headed back to the bar, ready to find a quiet spot to drink till he felt a little less sad.  
“I’ll find you later then.” His shaggy haired friend said walking away towards Morgana and Merlin.  
He grabbed a bottle from the bar, he couldn’t tell if it was his charming smile or connection to Uther that had the woman behind the bar handing the bottle over. A door in the back corner of the room led out onto a tiny poorly lit balcony. Arthur found it perfect for his sad plans of drinking alone. 

Merlin stood beside Morgana as they laughed at an outlandish story Gwaine was telling. He had received a strange look from the shorter man, when he walked up to them but whatever it was Gwaine didn’t bring anything up. Instead he jumped into a boisterous greeting of Morgana and Merlin. His magic felt like it was coiling low in his stomach, the palms of his hands warmed wanting him to let out the trapped magic building inside of him. He felt a familiar pulling sensation like his magic wanted to drag him off his feet and towards something.  
“Are you okay?” Morgana asked leaning over to ask quietly.  
“Yeah, I’m gonna go get some air for a minute.” He said.  
“Do you want to come with?”  
“No that’s okay.” He headed towards the bathroom before feeling the pulling this time stronger than before. Looking around he decided to follow it.  
His magic lead him towards a corner with a dimly lit doorway leading onto a small balcony. He could see plants and a bush covering most of the area. Stepping out of the door and onto the balcony he breathed deeply as he stepped closer to the edge and he could see out into the city. Looking back at the door to make sure nobody was watching him or could see him. Holding his palms out he summoned a small ball of light to try and alleviate the pressure. A loud gasp and the sound of glass being bumped directly behind him startled him into spinning around. Sitting on the ground beside the bushes was Arthur Pendragon with a bottle of booze. The two stared at each other with surprise written on their faces.  
“How did you do that?” Arthur asked, Merlin fought the urge to run as he clutched his hands to his chest as if he could take back the crime they had committed.  
“What are you talking about?” He knew he had been caught red handed, quite literally, but figured he might be able to make an escape if he kept Arthur distracted enough.  
“The light how did you do that.” He repeated this time on his feet. Merlin hoped that he would sway or slur his words, something to point to a drunken misunderstanding but werewolves were hard to get drunk and this one seemed to be hell bent on questioning him.  
“Seriously I have no idea what you’re talking about I just came out here to get some fresh air.” Something in his voice must have betrayed his fear because Arthur's eyes softened and previously bunched muscles relaxed.  
“I’m not gonna hurt you, you aren't in any trouble.” He spoke softly as if trying to calm a frightened animal.  
“Says the man who yells at busboys for spilling drinks on him.” Merlin knew it was a stupid thing to say but at the same time he was terrified and kind of wondering if his magic covered flight.  
“That’s a little different than this don’t you think?” Arthur asked giving him a smile that Merlin didn’t know what to do with, he refused to call it cute, “Besides I acted like an ass believe it or not because I had a rough day and decided to take it out on somebody else, cliche I know.”  
“What do you want me to say? That you might have seen me doing something that could make my life a living hell. That’s definitely something I want to admit to.” He grabbed his hair in frustration, leaning against the balcony. This weight he had been carrying for so long was finally becoming too much for him.

“I wouldn’t let that happen.” Arthur said softly as if anything louder would break the moment.  
“You don’t even know me why wouldn’t you just go right to your father with what you saw?”   
“Because I do know you I know your name is Merlin I know you apparently spend your free time falling into ravines.” His eyes widened when the blonde man spoke with a small sad smile.  
“You recognized me?”  
“Of course it’s not everyday somebody stumbles into the werewolf territory bleeding from their heads and looking like that.” Merlin couldn’t seem to focus on anything except for the loud beating of his own heart, he wondered if Arthur could hear it.  
“I don’t- I didn’t- Gaius-”   
“Hey, you’re okay calm down and breathe, Morgana would kill me if you pass out.” He said aiming for joke but missing as he reached his hands out to steady the dark haired man.  
The moment his hands made contact with Merlins skin it felt like he was submerged underwater. A tingling feeling traveled up his arms and he wanted to pull the other man closer and hold him tucked against his chest. That wasn’t the best idea at the moment as Merlin seemed a moment from hyperventilating. Arthur grabbed him by his shoulders and whispered calming words until his heart rate returned to a beat that wasn’t a mile a minute.  
“Merlin I know you’ve been at Gaius’s. Morgana, Gwen and Gwaine have been talking about you a lot I just wasn’t aware that I knew you.” Merlin didn’t seem to be hearing him only staring at where Arthurs hands were pressed against his shoulders.  
“Why does it feel like that?” Merlin said his voice awed as he stared at Arthur.  
“What are-what are you feeling?” He had to be sure before he told Merlin about the mate bond. He wouldn’t pressure him into something all because of something Merlin might not even feel.  
“I- I don’t- nevermind, I have to go Morgana’s probably looking for me.” He stuttered and fled before Arthur could say anything to stop his escape.   
Sighing he rubbed his face, all he managed to get was more questions than when he had started.


	7. Chapter 7

Merlin spent the whole night in a perpetual state of confusion. He felt empty and strange as if Arthur had stolen something out of him with his touch. At the same time he wanted to find the blonde prat and well he didn’t know what he wanted to do. He hadn’t felt this way in a long time, usually he was so bogged down with work and healing people that looking at people for reasons other than sickness was an alien feeling to him. The way Arthur had treated him was equally as confusing. He should have been running to his father the moment he saw magic being used, instead he had calmed Merlin brought him from the brink of a full blown panic attack as if he actually cared for him. It was startling to say the least.  
Arthur was an attractive man he couldn’t deny that but these feelings he was having weren’t normal for him, he felt a connection to Arthur something more than just a physical attraction. He had almost told him about it, but knew that it would make whatever strange kindness Arthur was showing him vanish into thin air, he would probably be disgusted. Merlin had seen the tabloids about Arthur, lounging on beaches with equally beautiful women. He also doubted that those women could make thunder clouds with just a thought, they weren’t magic users like him. Even if recently it seemed half the time his magic seemed to have a mind of its own. He shook his head to dispel the strange thoughts he was having he had only just really, formally, met Arthur tonight. These weren’t thoughts he usually had about people he recently met.  
Morgana was giving him an assessing look as if trying to crack some difficult code. They talked with one or two more people before she was leading him out of the building and ordering the valet to get the car back.  
“What the hell happened?”  
“What do you mean?” Merlin asked playing with his suit sleeve to avoid her piercing gaze.  
“Merlin, you disappeared for thirty minutes and came back looking completely frazzled, like you had seen a ghost. And of course Gwaine told me that Arthur had been out on the balcony before you. Did Arthur say something to you? If he was being an idiot I’ll kick his ass for you.” Morgana promised her eyes blazing at the thought of her brother upsetting Merlin.  
“No, no, nothing happened Morgana.”  
“You were obviously upset when you came back. Whatever it is I just want to help you.”  
He rubbed his face, there was no way he was actually going to show his magic to the other Pendragon sibling. He couldn’t. It was the one reason Gaius had pulled him out of that pack house, because to the Pendragons his magic was a curse, a disease, something to be punished and eradicated. But the look in Morgana's eyes conveyed something to him. He could feel it in his bones something old, a pull in his gut telling him to just let go.  
Holding out his hand palm up, he produced a beautiful blue butterfly, emanating a soft light. The light illuminated both of their faces. He slowly lifted his eyes to Morgana's face. Her red painted lips were parted slightly, her eyes were as wide as saucers, and her skin had lost all color. He flinched away when she held up her hand towards the butterfly.

“Merlin, it’s beautiful.” She breathed out, staring wide eyed at him. “How did you learn to make it beautiful?”  
“Magic isn’t about violence and terror.” Merlin said simply, “I was born with magic. I could float my toys from my crib.”  
“Nightmares. did you ever have nightmares, visions that seem so real and so awful?” Morgana asked desperately.  
“No, but that’s not the type of magic I have.” He said carefully studying her face.  
“What type of magic causes them?”  
“A Seer. Untrained seers and young ones usually get the nightmares, that's why they go through extensive training and mediation to better control them and use them.” He explained. Merlin hadn’t been expecting Morgana to have magic, not that she had admitted to it yet but it didn’t take a genius to see where the conversation was going.  
“What happens if they don’t get the training?” She asked.  
“The magic finds a way to express itself in anyway possible, especially if it’s repressed.”  
“Merlin, you understand what I’m telling you right?” Morgana asked, her big green eyes boring into him with an intensity only she could muster.  
“Yeah Morgana I think I do.” He laughed at the sheer insanity of the situation.  
“If Uther finds out I don’t know what he’ll do to me. He’s hated magic users ever since Ygraine died.”  
“You don’t have to tell him, you know. This isn’t his business and you can just keep this to yourself.”  
“How am I supposed to learn how to control this if i’m to busy being afraid of what my father will do to get any help?” Morgana asked angrily beginning to pace the living room.  
“I can help you. I’ve trained to help with magical illness and this would be no different from things I usually do.” Merlin explained trying to calm her down.

“You’d really do that?” She asked staring at him utterly shocked.  
“Of course why not?”  
“I’m the daughter of Uther Pendragon most magic users would be jumping at the chance to make Uther miserable.”  
“Well I wouldn’t want to be blamed for what my parents did so I’m not going to blame you for what your father has done.” Merlin said simply.  
“You’re something else Merlin has anybody ever told you that?” Morgana asked giving him a soft incredulous smile.  
“Usually when they say that it’s not a complement.” He laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this update is so short and late but I just got my wisdom teeth out so it's just been a lot of pain killers and headaches recently. Thanks for reading though guys!


	8. Chapter 8

Arthur sat in his apartment going over the events of the night. He could still see Merlin’s face, confused and afraid staring at his hands on his shoulders. curled into the leather sofa in his living room, staring at his hands. He was trying to forget the look in Merlin's eyes the fear that had consumed his features when he saw Arthur. It made him want to be sick, knowing that this was why his mate had run from him, because he thought that Arthur would tell his Father about his magic. But again he told himself, Merlin had no idea they were mates he probably just thought that Arthur was some Grade A douchebag with a bigot father. His face though right before he had left had confused Arthur the most, he had thought for a moment that he could feel the mate bond, he had even asked why it felt like that. He shook his head, none of it mattered, Merlin was straight, he had gone to the fundraiser with Morgana and had left to go find her when he had thought he had been gone for too long.   
He knew they would be bringing Merlin around, he was becoming a part of their group and he would be completely fine with that. He wouldn’t punish Merlin for his feelings, for something he had no control over and no hope of reciprocating. Clenching his fingers into the palms of his hands he decided he needed to go on a run. Needed to get rid of the sad nervous energy buzzing around his apartment. Arthur headed out to the parking garage connected to his apartment and got into his car and took the familiar route out of the city. Soon he found himself on a winding dirt road that led to the pack house, he could see a few cars out in front of it. People in the packs sometimes found themselves spending the night and there was always at least one patrol making sure nobody from the other territories were making their way into Camelot territories.  
Parking his car he got out took off his clothes and put them in the back seat. He began the transformation. His father had always told him it was simple biology, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly that allowed them to transform, not magic. But as he began to sprout fur from every pore and his hands and feet began to grow claws and transform into paws he couldn’t deny the fact that magic had to be at least a little responsible for him not being in massive amounts of agony. As the transformation completed he thought back to the magic that he had seen Merlin doing, the faint glow that cast shadows across his sharp cheekbones and lit his eyes like a golden fire. He wanted to reach out to- he shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. He was supposed to be running to clear his mind not to torture himself about things he couldn’t help.  
The air was clear and cold, it burned his lungs as he ran. His paws beat the ground as he raced through the forest. Moonlight glittered through the trees, catching on his body making his golden fur shine. Smells of the forest filled his nose, comforting and familiar, he had run these woods even before he was able to transform. Stepping into the forest was like being wrapped in a hug by a loved one. The sound of a loud hooting close to him had him skittering to a stop though. He turned to see an owl sitting on a felled tree staring at him with large black eyes, it had a tawny coloring and its claws dug into the bark of the tree as it leaned forward to inspect him closer. For some odd reason Arthur had the feeling that he had seen the owl before, not an owl like it but as if he knew this exact owl personally. It was stupid he knew but slowly he crept toward the majestic looking bird, which only watched his movements and seemed completly relaxed by his presence. He got so close his nose was almost brushing the birds chest feathers. The bird lifted one taloned foot and scraped his nose so softly that he was beginning to wonder if he was dreaming. The touch seemed to be a test run because the bird placed the foot back on the tree and this time brushed its hooked beak against Arthur's nose.   
Something seemed to catch the birds attention, somewhere to the north. It gave him another hoot this one seemingly in goodbye then stood at its full height and spread its wings and flew off into the night sky. Arthur watched the bird for as long as he could before it was lost above the foliage. He wanted to follow the bird, to figure out why it felt like he knew the animal. Shaking his great shaggy head he decided against the idea, knowing the bird would be too fast to follow and that it had been heading to the city. He had learned from a drunken night with Gwaine, Elyan, and Percy that it was better not to go full wolf in the city, it usually sent people into a bit of a tizzy. Beginning to run again he tried to dissect the weird behavior, knowing only a domesticated bird would have allowed a human that close to them, he then had to remind himself that he was not in fact in his human form. Whatever the bloody birds deal was he would think it over in the morning he decided, for now he just needed to run to forget more important issues. Issues with black hair and blue eyes that turned molten gold when they did impossible things.

Arthur woke the next morning in his apartment. He could vaguely remember changing and driving home but it seemed more like the actions of a stranger in a dream than himself. There were a few text messages from Gwaine, Morgana, Leon, and a few more of his friends wanting to know where he had disappeared to last night. There was of course one message from his father simply telling him it was unbecoming of the soon to be Alpha and son of a member of the city council to leave his father's party early unless he had cleared the matter with him first. He finished the whole message off by telling Arthur there had been a few women at the party he wanted to introduce him to. He groaned falling back into bed and using his arm to cover his face as he tried and failed to think of a good reason to get out of bed. The sound of loud knocking seemed to be the biggest reason he decided as soon as it began. Opening the door revealed Morgana, looking as put together as always. Her red lipstick was perfectly applied and her green eyes studied his bed head and sleep wear attire with contempt.

“Honestly Arthur, you look like a mess.” She said simply as she breezed past him and into the apartment.

“I happened to have just woken, thank you very much.” He said following her into the kitchen. 

“You have a leaf in your hair.” Was all she said in reply as she eyed him, searching for something. He quickly brushed a hand through his hair, found the offending piece of vegetation and flicked it into the trash can. Grabbing one of his coffee mugs out of the cabinet he went about filling it with coffee as Morgana made herself comfortable at the kitchen table.

“What’s going on with you and Merlin?” Morgana asked simply, nearly making him spit his drink all over her.

“Who exactly is Merlin?” He knew playing dumb probably wouldn’t work, Morgana had seen far too many of his actual blonde moments as she liked to call them.

“The man you spent nearly thirty minutes on a balcony with. Which, from what I heard, you then disappeared and then showed up at the pack house a few hours later. And knowing you, you went on one of your mind clearing broody wolf runs. So what exactly happened?” She raised a single eyebrow at him, which just made him think of Gaius.

“Don't worry Morgs I’m not planning on stealing your boyfriend.” Arthur said taking another sip of his coffee. It was almost impossible to swallow pass the lump in his throat but somehow he managed. He sat down across from her at the table.

“Boyfriend? You ridiculous oaf did you not notice Gwen and Lancelot together. I had to find somebody to go with and Merlin was the only person I could come up with on short notice.” She rolled her eyes at him but there was something else in her face that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. 

“Huh.” He replied eloquently, Morgana huffed and gave him an incredulous look.

“You know I wouldn’t mind terribly if you actually did steal him. I don’t think he’s that attracted to me anyway.” She said with feigned nonchalance but the sharpness of her eyes told him that she was studying him closely.

“He doesn’t even like me Morgana. I made a massive ass out of myself in front of him.” Arthur said rubbing his face in frustration. That was obviously the wrong thing to say though he realized once he saw the way her face lit up.

“You do like him!” She said raising one excitedly accusatory finger.

“How on earth could you possibly know that you’ve never even seen us have a conversation?” Arthur asked befuddled, his sister was good but not that good.

“You just said it.” He gave her a glare and she lifted both hands in concession, “I saw the way you looked at him last night and then I watched you take that bottle, looking all mopey. And the fact that you looked so sad when you were talking about the embarrassing fool you made of yourself.”

“Hey! You don’t even know what happened.” 

“Merlin told me about it.” She did not include the part where they spent most of last night talking about magic and other things.

“Of course he did.” Arthur grumbled. 

“So is he…” She didn’t have to say the word, they both knew.

“Yes.” He sighed, he was so tired of all this back and forth.

“Shit, Arthur. Why don’t you say something to him?”

“You wouldn’t get it Morgana, you’re not a werewolf, neither of you are.” She glared at him her eyes turning into green fire.

“Don’t you dare pull that with me Pendragon. Just because me and Merlin can’t grow a tail doesn’t mean we’re somehow less than you. And it’s not my fault Uther decided to have an affair with my not werewolf mother!” Arthur was almost worried for the state of his kitchen, Morgana was probably not above destroying something. She knew he had the money to fix it.

“That’s not what I’m trying to say Morgana. I don’t think I’m above either of you because of how I was born. I just don’t want to trap him into something because I have this stupid mate bond that he probably doesn’t even feel. I’m not gonna guilt him into something and I mean he doesn’t even like me. He made that abundantly clear at the bar.” He let all of it out not able to stand himself as he finally put it all into words. Morgana made a noise before shoving her chair back, circling the table and enveloping her brother into a hug. He hadn’t been expecting that level of affection from her. When Morgana had first moved in with them at eleven she had been sullen and distant. Even when they did grow closer as they grew older she had only ever hugged him as a punishment to try and fix his boyish ridiculousness and rudeness. He would screech like a banshee and they would wrestle until Arthur had her pinned, only, she would insist because he spent half his time as slobbering mutt. He would not let her talk about the times she beat him in their wrestling matches. 

“I know you have a tiny stupid boy brain and it makes talking about your feelings unimagineable but right now I need you to understand that Merlin is a grown man who’s not gonna feel like you’re guiliting him into anything.” She unwrapped her arms from around him and took the seat beside him, “Have you told him about the bond?”

“No, what am I supposed to say, “Hey sorry I know you think I’m an asshole but I’m a werewolf and we believe in predestined life long attachments, no pressure or anything”, that would go over super well.” 

“Well maybe he has his own baggage to deal with,” A far away look crossed across her face at that. He was reminded of sharp features illuminated by magic. “You have to talk to him, or you’re just gonna spend the rest of your life miserable and regretful. At least if you talk to him you’ll know that you tried. Or Uther will marry you off to one of those debutantes and they'll kill you for your fortune.” 

“Fine I’ll talk to him but I’m not making any promises,” Arthur sighed before turning his attention back to her and raising an eyebrow, “What did you need anyway you never said?”

“Nevermind it’s not important anymore.” The nervous look flitting across Morgana's face was enough to make him nervous, she was never nervous, it was unsettling. He decided against pressing the matter though, if she didn’t want to talk about it he wouldn’t press her. Morgana was never one to hide her feelings from him for long, when she was ready she would tell him.

“You want eggs, freeloader?” He asked as he stood. She laughed and nodded, seeming relieved by the change of topic.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on tumblr @merlinthemagicuser


End file.
